Nickel alloy



- as a residue of the 45 made from copper and nickel.

ITE I STATES l LEON CAMMEN, or NEW- YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR To 'rHn'INTERuA'rIoNAL COMPANY, A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY.

PATENT OFFICE.

NICKEL NICKEL ALLOY.

No Drawing;

county, and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Nickel Alloys, of which the following is a specification.

'This invention refers particularly toternary alloys of nickel, copper and aluminum,

wherein the aluminum is present not merely but a, necessary constltuent of the alloy.

The use of aluminum in very small 1 amounts, usually under one per cent, in

is so used, the effort is however made to introduce as little of it as possible, the ideal being to put in just enough Al to take out all the oxygen present in the metal bath.

One per cent is now considered in Monel metal foundries to be about the" limit of the amounts in which either, aluminum or magnesiuml should be used as deoxidizers (all percentages are by weight).

In the present specification ishowever described an alloy containing from 3 to 17 per cent ofaluminum in addition to nickel .and copper.

As a base for the production of such alloys is used Monel metal which is a trade name of an alloy containing 25 to 28 per cent of copper, 65 to 69 per cent of nickel, and some impurities, such I as iron, man-' -ganese,-carbon, etc. The advantage of. using this particular alloy. in the production .of nickel-copper-aluminum alloys lies in the 40 fact that the percentages of nickel and copper in the monel-aresatisfactory for purposes of producing the ternary alloy, and that Monel metal is cheaper than would have been an alloy of similar composition As far as the properties of the ternary alloys arey concerned, however, it does not make any-dif ference whether the alloy is made with such a natural alloy of copper and nickel as Monel metal, or from synthetic alloys of the two metals. The preferred Application filed February 7, 1921. Serial No. 443,251.

rocess of deoxidation,

I content of.v nickel in the final ll y i f lm'about (1 to ab ut 7 and that of aluminum is from about 10% In my tests I have found that the addition of aluminum to copper-nickel alloys of the composition approaching that of Monel metal, which hereafter (including the claims) will be designated as'Monel metal, begins to affect the properties of the alloys when the content of aluminum is in excess of 3 per cent, the metal becoming harder and denser in structure. Finally at about a content of 8to 10 per centof aluminum,

the metal becomes so hard that it cannot be cut with ahacksaw-orfiled, and if an attempt to file it is made, it turns the teeth of the file. On the other hand, however, the metal, while so hard, is tough and extremely resistant to shock, which makes it of value in construction; It alsometain's the abi'lity of standard Monel metal to resist corrosion.

As regards the methods of production of the metal, I have found that the simplest way is to add the proper amount of aluminum, molten, to a molten bath of Monel metal, carefully stirrin the-mixture. A powerful reaction rapi y sets in, the surface of the pot of mixture becoming of a brilliant White color, after which there is often a tendency for the mixture to freeze. The copper-nickel-aluminum alloy casts well, and has no special tendency towards the formation of blow-holes.

My tests haveshown that an addition of aluminum inpercentages in excess of 17 per cent produces a brittle alloy..

' I claim;

1. An alloy of nickel, copper and aluminum, wherein the content of nickel is in excess of 50% and the content of aluminum is not less than about 3% and'not more than 17 the predominant metal of the remain less than 18% and the content of aluminumis not less than about 3%, the three metals named forming the predominant percentages of the alloy.

3. An alloy of nickel, copper and aluminum, wherein the content of nickel is not substantially lessthan' 50% and the con tent of aluminum is about 4% to 5%, the predominant metal of the remaining content being copper.

4. An alloy of nickel, copper and alumi num, wherein the content of nickel is 60% to 70% and the content vof aluminum is 10% to 3%, the predominant metal of the remaining content being copper.

5. An alloy of nickel, copper and aluminum, wherein the content of nickel is in excess of 50% and thecontent of aluminum is not less than about 3% but is insufficient to destroy the malleability of the alloy for mechanical working, the predominant metal of the remaining content being copper.

LEON CAMMEN.

Witnesses:

ERNEST HARTFORD, A. L. SOHUMAOHER. 

